"You can’t top that" - Kamaru Usman hints at facing Islam Makhachev vs. Jack Della Maddalena winner before chasing Khamzat Chimaev

Former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman is targeting one final push toward two-division glory. He has set his sights on the winner of Islam Makhachev vs Jack Della Maddalena before closing his career with a rematch against Khamzat Chimaev.

Usman believes that becoming a two-weight champion would cement his legacy as one of the greatest beyond debate. In the past, he made it clear that his intention to face Makhachev stems from both respect and opportunity. The idea of the potential clash between the two former pound-for-pound best could represent one of the sport’s biggest events.

Despite their shared management and training connections, Usman has claimed in the past that he views such a fight as a business opportunity. Speaking about his goals on his YouTube channel, Usman said:

“The dream scenario is next fight, win the welterweight title, vacate, win the middleweight title, retire. You can’t top that.”

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After dropping a majority-decision loss to Chimaev, Usman returned to welterweight in June 2025, defeating Joaquin Buckley by unanimous decision. The win improved his record to 21–4 with nine knockouts and eleven decision victories.

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When Kamaru Usman presented his case to fight winner of Jack Della Maddalena vs. Islam Makhachev clash

After Kamaru Usman returned to the win column against Joaquin Buckley in June 2025, he made it clear that his title ambitions were far from over. The former welterweight champion, at that time, wanted the winner of Jack Della Maddalena vs. Islam Makhachev at UFC 322.

Usman viewed both potential opponents as defining challenges in his pursuit of another title run. Speaking in an episode of the Pound 4 Pound podcast with Henry Cejudo, he said:

"If JDM [Della Maddalena] defends that title against Islam, who better to say OK, let's solidify him as the new generation of champion by taking on the biggest name, the former pound-for-pound in the division, of course, me."

He added:

"Of course, if Islam wins, pound-for-pound vs. pound-for-pound fighting, I mean, I'm not really worried here. I've done my job to let them know because they wanted to see, 'Hey, are you still that guy, can you still hang with these guys, can you still do your thing,' and I've done that. I went in there and showed them that. So, I'm not worried."

Edited by Abhishek Nambiar